Homeless, Almost Died, and No Ladder: How James' Mindset & Hope Changed His Life in Roofing Sales

Today, James is joining me. And James has a story that we are going to get real deep. We are going to get very real. And I am imagining many folks will be relating to these things. And James, I just want to say first, thank you for being here and being so willing to share your story.

For sure. For sure.

It all started, I think it was a comment on a Facebook post, and then we connected on Facebook and then you sent me a message. And when I got that message, I'm not even going to share what it was because I'd love for you to do it. Everyone falls into roofing sales with a different. From a different place. We've seen people with felonies, we've seen people with health issues. We've seen businesses fail and people fall to it. Roofing sales just seems to be kind of rock bottom. Walk me through it from the beginning. Where were you?

I can 100% agree with what you just said. It was about three years ago. It's something I've struggled with a lot in my life. Was, was it started with addiction, started with drug addiction, alcoholism. Started back as a. As a young child, you know, growing up around something like that and just accepting at that point that some of the low points in my life were status quo and that that's how I was going to live the rest of my life. And that's what I got comfortable with. Right. So it started out about three years ago whenever I was finally arrested by the state of Texas for possession of drugs. Right. And, and, and that's nothing that I'm proud of, but it, but my past is what's molded me into who I am today. Luckily, I was smart enough to choose the right choice and understand those were consequences and that I didn't want to live in that life no more. So going through some of that, it's threw me into a homeless. Homelessness. And, and I spent about two years living on the streets, right? In and out of couches and in and out of living on the street. A street life, you know, and having to accept the new comfort level of my life. And it wasn't fun, man. It was. It was definitely scary time in my life through all that. To top it off, I ended up in the hospital and I was told that I was being diagnosed with a heart condition called congestive heart failure. And I spent about two weeks in icu, cardiac icu. I was thankful because it got me out of that street lifestyle for a minute, you know, but it definitely didn't set in until about a month later. That I had a serious heart condition that the doctors were giving me six months to live, right. That was two years ago. So I didn't want to accept that. My mindset didn't accept that. My mindset didn't accept that. That the things that have happened in my life up until the point of about three years ago. I'm 40 years old now, right? So I was about 37 years old. I've gone through several issues with the, the immediate family of my two children and my ex wife. Right. I've had to separate things out in my life and find out what I really wanted. So I got into, into a recovery program for my addiction to stay maintained with that, stay sober and clean and to walk the lifestyle that I want to live through doing that. I met a friend, man, and he had his life on point. He had his life on point, right. And asked what he did and he said that he worked for, for a company doing general contracting roofing. Right. And never like I, I have, I've had customer service relation, but never did I think that I would be doing what I'm doing right now. Not in a million years. I thought I'd give it a shot. I. I had gotten better through all that time. Sorry, I skipped ahead a little bit, but I had gotten better with my heart condition to give it, give a positive note here. The. I was diagnosed like with congestive heart failure is like two years ago. I, I go to the cardiac doctor every two, every six months. And about a year ago I ran two 5k runs and I Dang. Yeah. And they don't even know that it's there, right. Like they did the echocardiogram and they don't even know that it's there any longer unless they look back at the medical file. So anything short of a miracle happened. You know what I mean? So I wanted to try out what my friend had tried out. Getting into the general contracting roofing industry and trying to change my financial lifestyle. Trying to set a new platform and like jump ahead in life and not accept what that other stuff had thrown at me, you know what I'm saying? So I started with the company I'm with now. It's a XL construction group. Uh, we're out of our corporate offices out of Watauga, Texas. We also have a division in Colorado Springs and Denver. But I started with them about. It was last June. So It's June of 2020. My first week there, I kind of walked through their training program. They have a great training program as well. I walk through what to do out here in the field, the ethical ways to be and having some good morals out here. And, and it's, you know, getting to know a homeowner and not be in the sales mindset, but be in a relationship building mindset, right? And something that you want for a lifetime, somebody to call you back, you know, So I had to learn those things and, and I picked up quick. I picked up real quick, I think. And I realized the first week I didn't have a ladder. This was the commitment that I made to this industry, right? Was I came into this job at 2007 Mazda. It was, it was barely drivable, but it got me around to my, to my customers houses when I first started and I did not have a ladder, so I had to rely on other people. And I didn't feel like that's what I wanted my platform to set at. So I had $80. My friend sold me a 4:1 ladder for 50 bucks. Paula White, I'll give you a shout out. And she sold me a four in one ladder for 50 bucks. It left me $30 for, for the next two weeks, right? But I still have that ladder. It's in my vehicle now. I'm in a new vehicle, brand new vehicle. And the ladder's in the back. I still use it. And anyways, I started watching Adam about a week into me being in this industry and some of the models that, some of the models that you displayed, you know, like the slap formula, how to overcome certain things at the door, how to overcome every buttle, certain, certain conversations and keep the conversations alive, right? And continue to earn the customer service that you were there for in the beginning and never to lose that thought process. And man, it's rocketed me through this year that I've been in here, man. I'm one of the top producers at Excel Construction Group. I think that in the last year I've brought in, I think the number's at $785,000 now for the company. And a portion of that's mine, right. I have my own place now. I'm not on. I'm not on the street no more. I go and, and I, I do nothing but enjoy giving back like something. Doing like something like this and giving a testimony of vision, of hope for those that think that there's no hope or that are in that, that spiral of, of just like, I can't do it. You know, they keep saying no or, or. And just keep plugging away, man. Like I. Matter of fact, I just signed a Deal from a farmer's insurance agency. She called while ago and asked me to come do an inspection for. Right. As a referral out here in Texas. I went and signed a deal over there. From that, I went down to Houston two weeks ago, a homeowner called me four hours away to come put their roof on. Right. Contractors banging her door down. But she was loyal and stayed with Excel and with me for a reason. And stuff like this. Stuff like this is. Oh, my God, man. Like, fuels my motivation and should fuel other people because it's nothing more than a mindset, you know, and learning the right way and having the right people around you to go the right direction. You know, that. That. I hope that sums it up. But.

James, this was like one of the most touching connections I've made. And I just want to say thank you for just sharing, like, the real story, you know. And I want to say first, congratulations. Not that you need my congratulations. I'm really.

No, you don't. That's awesome, man.

You know, forget roofing. You went from homeless and near death to turning your life around and literally a new lease on life. And the attitude you bring and the fact that you are willing to jump in, so many people are like embarrassed of the car they drive. And I did that video. What, the truck? You don't. Doesn't matter. But it holds people back up here. You didn't have a ladder. You still went out and found a way. I'm so tired of salespeople with the excuses. And here you are, cards stacked beyond against you. You literally defied all odds. No house, no money, health, life altering health complications. I've done the ICU thing. It's a very unpleasant place to be. Luckily, I was only there for a couple of days. You were there for two weeks. You know, no ladder. Like, if anyone says they can't do this, it's just another reminder to tune in and like, what's going on here?

Here.

Yeah, so, man, just. I'm just. I'm so touched to have to hear your story and to share this with others because even today, you know, man, I wish I had. I remembered usernames off the top of my head. I think it was Jacobia that had commented. And he was in the dumps because he had to put his dog to sleep. Someone else reaches out. I was in a sales slump. Someone else had, you know, losing family members through Covid and we all have these hard times, right? No, it's. It's. I thought I had a hard start. You make my start. Look Easy.

Duh. No, James. What.

Like, when you got started, if it's okay to ask, what was the hardest part for you?

I think the hardest part for me was. Just. Just really. I mean, I wanted a lifestyle change so bad at that point in my life, to be honest, that I don't know if there was a hard part. That's the 100% honest truth. When you want something so bad, like, you know what your why is, and it doesn't change. What is my why? You know, our vice president, company asks our consultants that all the time. You know, what was your why? Why are you doing this? What was it on day one? Why am I. I was tired. I was tired of being financially strapped. My children deserve more. You know, I was tired of struggling. I saw everybody that once I came into the industry and made friends here, everybody had a big truck, everybody had just bought a house, everybody. And it's not like. It's not a bad. It's the hustle, it's the grind, right? Like, this industry offers so much from what I've learned, that it's. It's the amount of effort that you're willing to put into it. If you put in 100% of your time, you're going to make $100,000. If you put in 10% of your time, you're Going to make $10,000, you know, but if you want a lifestyle change and it's a career path, it's something that will always be here. Something that homeowners and property owners, business owners, they'll all need somebody to be assistant to them. You know, it's. That's something that is a must. It's a. It's a. What is it called that they called it during COVID Essential. It's an essential. Yeah, it's an essential service. Yes, sir.

Yeah, man. That. That's. It's. It's amazing how that level of pressure and being in the dumps, like, when you don't have a choice, you know, pressure is what causes us to take action. You know, I had pressure. My pressure I don't even want to talk about, because there's nothing like your pressure. And the fact that you just. You. You grabbed. You grabbed the bull by the horns and, you know, the. The. The other thing that. I really appreciate that you said, it's not just about the money. It's not just about this, but being of service, but finding meaning. It's about having a why. And one thing that I. That I always hesitate with these interviews because I've interviewed some like crazy successful sales reps. There's a new one publishing those gentleman's old multimillion like more than a most companies will do in a year. We all have that judgment comparing ourselves to others. And a lot of the folks I've talked with have said don't compare yourself. And like I just feel the passion from you to be like, I'm doing this for me, I'm doing this for my kids. Like if you sold an extra million, it doesn't matter. All these numbers are vanity to some respect. What other opportunity, I'm curious if there even is one. Felony, records, homeless. Where else can you go to earn an income to the level that you do here legally?

I don't know one. Unless you go back to college. And in today's world, like college degrees. I've got a 10th grade education, so yeah, I mean I'm smarter than that now. I mean I've got, I didn't graduate, I'm sorry, I got a ged, but maybe I should have worded that different.

I get where you're going, where you're coming from. And what's interesting, one of our top sales reps, his last year school was eighth grade.

Right. And but some of the industry, the thing that I, that I, that I say a lot though is if you've, if you've had a struggle in life like I have, right. That mindset of resiliency is already there. You just have to find it and apply to. If you come into this industry, you are, if you were in that kind of life before, you are resilient because there's so many times you did have to bounce back and get back to the point that society calls, you know, normal, I guess so that resiliency is there. So going through struggles in this industry, you know, it, it's already there. You just have to find it to apply it, you know, I guess it's a better way to say it, but.

To channel it in a good place.

Right, Exactly.

What, what was your, if you looked back, like what, where did things click? Like what happened? Did you find something? Did you use a strategy? Did you develop a new method like when did things click that allowed you to become one of the top producers at the company? What shifted for you?

I think that the biggest thing that I hold true to and a lot of people will vouch for it, is that if it's not conducive to my success, then I edit it out of my life. And if there was somebody that was knocking with me when I first started and it wasn't, they weren't vibing that day. I've Ubered two people out of my vehicle before. And it's not because I'm, I'm that, that person, right? It's that I wait. This job, you choose your own hours, right? You, you build your own schedule. And that's where I was trying to say that, like, the effort is. The amount of effort is where your success will show up. And, you know, I would wake up at 8 o' clock in the morning, I'd wake up 7 o' clock in the morning, and I would get up in the morning and perform 40 hours that week. If it looked like me getting in my CRM for the company and doing work there, if it looked like me writing an estimate, if it looked like me knocking the door, whatever that looked like, 40 hours plus 40 hours that don't even put it on. I was up till midnight last night, right? So it's like, I guarantee at least 100 hours a week is what I put in. But that level of success, that level of efforts where my success, success is showing up. The. What clicked, man, was just like, I found out who I should want to be around. I said this on one of our group chats with the company earlier. It's like, if you want to be a rock star, man, you got to surround yourself with rock stars, right? You got to live that lifestyle. And, and if you surround yourself with a bunch of people that are negative and don't find, don't find solutions to problems and stuff like that, then that's the person that you're going to be, you know?

Yeah. Jim Rohn, he said you're the. I believe it's Jim Rohn. You're the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. And I think that, that, I mean, you just, you said it so well. And I really, you know, there's one thing between saying it like, hey, I'm. I'm going to cut these things out of my life. But Ubering someone out of your vehicle being like that level is incredible. I'm tuned. I'm. I need to, I need to be more like that. That's honestly inspiring me. Like, I'd want to do it, but I don't know if I actually would. But look, hearing someone say that, it's like, wow, stand up for yourself. And ultimately there's so many people in this world, they're going to move on. It might even be a good lesson for them. And it's not rude. I mean, they're being it doesn't matter.

You said may be a good lesson for them.

Yeah. Yeah.

And we're never better than somebody else. Right. And I don't want to give that impression. But, but sometimes looking at, at the, at the, at the, at the picture as a whole and wondering, am I enabling this person to be unsuccessful? Right. Yeah. Because I think, I think, like, in this industry, man, like from what, what I've learned, what I've been given and what I've been taught, like, I really want to give that away to somebody who wants to learn. And if I can mentor somebody into what I've learned and what I've been taught, great. But if they're not willing to take hold of it, then, you know, you're just not ready yet. You know, it's. That's a good point you made.

Did you learn some of this through recovery as well? Just like having to cut people? Because I know everyone I know that's in recovery, you can't be around. No, those people, they're, they're.

Yeah, it's 100% right there. It's the, the program that, that I stay clean and sober AT is a 12 step program that you can apply to any part of your life at any point in your life. It's the, the principles that are behind it are there to, to help you stay growing within life and stay positive, you know?

Yeah. Where do you see yourself in two years.

Man? The, the sky's the limit. Yeah. I have not, I have no idea, but I know that it would be further ahead than where I'm at now.

Yeah. I have no doubt in my mind about it. I mean, I really don't. If you had to give someone advice, even if someone didn't have the same story as you, you know, your story still blows me away. Let's say I'm a new rep and I'm joining Excel and we're at a sales meeting together and I come up to you and I said, hey, James, do you have any advice for me? I'm just getting started. What would you tell me?

To work eight hours a day as much as you can, and to not give up, man. Like, like, I would hate to tell somebody that on their first day. Right. But I feel like maybe after their first, after their first day, they would need to hear it because it's a, A lot of what? A lot of the, the business and customer relation that we earn out here. And I say earn is self generated. It's, it's, it's nothing. Nothing is really given to us. The market is saturated and flooded with, with what we do and it's all self generated to earn that customer and, and it takes time. I think it took, I think it took three months of when I first got started before I started seeing any kind of revenue really start paying me back. And then it probably took about, I want to say about 8 to 10 months almost the full year. It's just been like here recently that I've started building a good customer base that I can rely on. I know that for, for this year I haven't knocked but more than maybe 10 hours collectively. And a lot of those 10 hours were spent the day after the storm providing service like tarping or just doing window checks and stuff like that. After the major storms that we've had or they've been out with a new rep to walk them through the process. Right. It's been since February when the winter storms come through here. Winter storm, how do you say? Uri. Uri. That was my first phone call this year was, I think it was February 26th and from that day it's been like a, a thunderstorm of crazy. I mean it's absolutely crazy. It hasn't stopped and I'll never forget it. Like, it's cool.

Did you ever think that you would, that you would go from that three months of like grinding it out to like literally being so busy it's hard to keep up?

Absolutely not. I wanted to quit my job three times. There's a person, Lindsey Alexander, that's here with the company. She's a divisional manager now. She was the training manager then. And my, my, my consultant manager was Corey Hayworth. And between those two people that had to hear my crap every afternoon and then three other times where I was just going to fold up and quit. Yeah, I was done, you know, and it was through that mindset of having to go back to and be reminded what was your why? Why? Right, right. Like what, why did you come into this? What were you wanting to change in your life? And the continued motivation and encouragement that I was given, I think that's real important in the beginning of a new reps start in the industry is that they, not to be coddled or however you say it, but to be encouraged and motivated and to find their strong points and their weak points and keep them in a mindset of the constructive criticism is okay, this is how you're going to grow and to stay uncomfortable, stay uncomfortable. If you're comfortable, then get uncomfortable because that's where you're going to grow.

Yeah, yeah. That's true, man. That is so true. And I appreciate the reminder. I'm reminding myself of that every day. I really appreciate that you shared that you wanted to quit three times because the biggest demon in this business is here. And, you know, that's why I do so many videos on confidence and battling our. Our inner demon. And you, you beat it. You know, it's like you let the demon win where you're no better off than you were. You decided to quit. And don't get me wrong, there's times you hit a wall. You hit a wall, you got to find a way around it. But there's also times that if you give up prematurely, you're, you're, you're losing out. Like, what would have happened?

You know, what happened? Exactly. Where would you be?

What I'd love to do is, is close with some advice that you would give someone. Because I know, I mean, there's guys that have been in this for years that are like, I am reaching my point. And there's people that are brand new. They're questioning, is this legit? Can I do it? Is the industry real? Is the company I'm with going to pay me? You know, and they just. It's because they haven't had their first hit yet. And I hate to use an analogy here, but I. In a lighthearted way, roofing sales is addictive. And in order for us to get hooked, we need to taste success. And that success is a commission check. And we're like, I just earned this from doing, having fun, being out with people and helping someone.

How did.

How do I do this more? How do I serve more people? And I love that you use the word earned. Earned their business. And, and I am guilty as the next person of saying closed, but I. Look, I fully believe that every time we. We close a deal, it's because we earned the business. We didn't manipulate someone. And I know you can manipulate people into a. Yes, those are the cancellations. So getting back to the advice, let's pretend. I mean, you've got experience under your belt. You have a story. You've got the, the, the true know how of being in the trenches, facing the demons, not only with work, but your own personal recovery, everything. If I was. If I walked up to you and pulled you aside privately after a meeting and said, hey, James, I'm thinking of quitting, what would you tell me to help me stay motivated?

I think I would just kind of go through what the reasoning was behind the quit. Right? And to be honest and to Find out what that animal is that's burdening you, man. Like, is it somebody really upset you today? Did you get cussed out at the door? Did they slam the door on you? Is it a co worker? You know what I mean? Really dig into what the, what the problem is and because what I've heard is there's, and there, there could be a multitude of those problems. And the biggest piece of advice that I think that I've seen, the short time I've been in the industry and watched other new consultants and watched them have to walk through a series of failures and, and it's only because I think the biggest thing that I could think of is that to stay, to find an area that you can buy in, right? Especially whenever you're getting started. My people that I could buy in and this has no judgment to anybody but the demographic of people were lower income people, right? I couldn't vibe and I could not conversate with somebody that owned a multimillion dollar mansion. Just wasn't much. It just wasn't my thing that at that point in my life and that point of me being in the industry, I had to find out where my demographic was, where my conversation level could stand at. And at that point I could talk with those people on their level and I could understand them. I could build a relationship at that point, right? A friendship and I would stay in that area. I didn't jump around. Well, this area is not working, so I'm going to try this area. That area is not working, so I'm going to try this area and get so spread out that I don't even have enough money in my bank. But I've already spent all the gas in my car to drive around all these areas that I might have one or two warm leads in. So the biggest thing I can say that I figured out is to find the area that you can vibe in and that you can conversate to a group of people in. Make yourself known there. If you're trying to be integral and you're letting these homeowners know that, that you're there to provide a service, continue to show up, even if it looks like you're there to check on them, you know, like just continue to show up in that area. And once they know that, that the presence of you is, is there because you said that you were going to be there, then they are going to talk about you, they're going to know who you are. You won't have to introduce yourself at the door. They'll start Spreading it on the neighborhood Facebook websites and in it. And it'll become a small, little, little something that's going to blow up into a lot because they have a brother, they have a sister, they have a mother, they have an aunt, they have an uncle, they have a dad and a mom that all own properties. And if you can gain the relationship of one person, if you can take the opportunity, and every opportunity has an opportunity behind it is what I'm trying to say. Doesn't matter what it looks like in the beginning. I did a roof for a homeowner about four months ago that was about 16 squares, right? And the whole way there, I'm not gonna lie, I was guessing and asking myself, should I pass this off to the next guy that needs a roof? And I went ahead and I took it and I walked through the whole process. When I got done with that roof, this lady had three other properties. Yes. And each of those properties were probably 60 to 70 squares in a very nice area of DFW. Right. So that just goes to show that if we look at an opportunity that, that we think is nothing, then, then we might want to talk, go back and rethink it. Because if you take every, every chance as an opportunity, there's something else behind it, you know, that, that, that's where I could leave with, I'm sorry, turn up to apologize about being in the industry, man. And it's just great.

James, you know what I admire about you? I admire your self awareness and I admire the fact that this industry is plagued with massive egos and you don't have one. And if you do, you hit a damn good job hiding it. So I'm going to assume you don't because you're self aware to the fact that one. Let me take one step back. You just gave amazing advice. Focus on relationships. Stick and stay put in a neighborhood to be efficient. Know your people. Those are three lessons that took me so long to learn. People don't grasp because the grass is greener. I love that you checked the ego. You're like, you know who I get along with. I connect with people with low income. There's nothing wrong with that. Why can't we just all know who we connect with? You connect, you can the people that you can relate to and those relationships cascade. So I just want to say thank you for leading by example, not having an ego, being self aware and giving just incredible advice for anyone who's questioning whether they should get in the industry, people who are questioning whether or not they should stay in the industry and the seasoned people who may quit. And honestly, if. If everybody in our industry approached the personal development aspect, the service aspect, the integrity aspect, and the level of self awareness, we would be living in utopia, frankly.

Yes.

But I wish it could. So, man, thank you. James.

Yes, sir.

I'm honestly at a loss. I just want to say thank you. Is there anything that you'd like to share with me? Anyone who's listening or watching before we.

Call it a wrap today, I want to say thank you, Adam, because, I mean, it's a blessing, man. I. And I've gotten choked up a few times through this, but it's because I do have passion, you know, And I am thankful and I'm humble for what's been given to me. I'm thankful for this. Like, never did I think that I would get to jump up on with the roof Strategist, man, the guy that man, like, you don't even know. Like, this does a lot for me as a person. I spread this around. All my co workers. Y' all know what I'm doing today. You know what I mean?

Yeah, I am. The honor is really mine, James. Thank you so much for being here.

Yes, sir.